Shades of Angst
by Jewelieishness
Summary: Caren is murdered, and the purple pearl is now missing. Leila, the new purple princess, has just been raised by the likes of Lanhua and Lady Bat, and now the mermaids can't seem to get Leila on their side...R&R?
1. Prologue

**Author's Notes: Y'know...I really wonder why nobody has killed off Caren, especially since a lot of people hate her because of her voice.**

**And it's surprising, you know, that the first person to kill off Miss Purple Pearl will be...me. Caren is my favorite mermaid, after all, but she is going to die in order to make this fanfiction work.**

**Wow.**

**Disclaimer: No own MMPPP.**

**---**

**Shades of Angst**

**---**

Noel sniffled slightly, took one more look at the coffin, and burst into tears all over again. Coco held the deep blue princess, whispering comforting words. Tears streamed down the elder princess's face as well.

Lucia was hugging Kaito, her eyes bloodshot and still pouring. Kaito looked remorsefully at the dead body and wondered for a second why he'd never bothered to try to make friends with the poor deceased girl.

In the coffin, with a sobbing Hanon and silently crying Rina towering above her, was a Mermaid Princess. Her name had been Caren. She'd ruled over the Antartic ocean.

Seira sat in her chair, knees pulled up to her chest. Tearstreaks marked the young girl's otherwise flawless face.

All around, representatives from Caren's kingdom and fellow Mermaid Princesses mourned the dead girl. Subaru'd even shown up; he sat alongside Seira, face pale and mouth muttering words of denial.

Even in her death, the princess was resplendent; she wore an elegant lavender and silver gown, those being her two choice colors. The gown was long enough to cover up her mermaid tail, so that questions wouldn't be asked from Subaru, who'd never found out about her secret. He didn't seem to notice that her hair was different from when they'd met; her flourescent purple locks were pulled up beautifully with large, beautiful hyacinths, and her signature corkscrew curls had never been altered. Her eyelids concealed shining violet irises; Rina wished that the girl would jump up and glare at her with those eyes, just one more time...

"We are about to begin," A man dressed in black announced. The funeral-goers took their seats. Subaru continued to whisper words of denial, which everybody ignored.

The man walked up and started the usual, 'She was a kind, loving' crap that he never meant. He'd been in charge of too many funerals.

"...And now, would anybody like to come up and say something about her?"

Noel dashed up onto the stage before any of the other Princesses could. "Caren...Caren was my little sister...my twin sister..." Noel choked back a sob. "We...we'd never...we met each other when we were both about eighteen, and...she died so soon...I never really got to know her as well as I wanted to..." She started bawling in front of everybody on the podium. Seeing her friend in that sort of condition, Coco left her seat and led Noel gently off the stage and through the courtyard.

Rina came up next. "Caren and I weren't the best of friends when we met...in fact, she just about hated me. But eventually, we got to know each other, and we had very similar personalities...it clicked, and all of a sudden we were very good friends." She turned her head towards the mermaid, eyes misty. "I will never forget her...Caren will live on, in our hearts, in our dreams...in our memories. Don't forget her." She bowed slightly and left the stage. A few people applauded.

"Caren was killed in a tragic car accident," Hanon began. "Lucia and I were there with her. She was so brave - there was a little girl in the middle of the road, and an eighteen wheeler was coming at her..." Hanon stopped to wipe the moisture from her face. "Caren scooped the little girl up and started making sure she was okay...the car hit, and the girl turned out fine, because Caren sustained most of the damage..." Hanon bit her lip. "Like Rina said, we shouldn't forget this huge sacrifice she made for this person she didn't even know."

Seira stood at the podium and stared at the corpse. "Caren, we loved you, and we still do. I really, really hope you're fine up there. That you've moved on to a better place..." Seira gave the body a broken, sad smile. "Do say hi to Sara for me..."

Lucia was the final person to come up. "Once, we asked each other how we wanted to be buried or whatever when we were deceased...I said I wanted to be cremated, and Caren told me to tell every human at her funeral her biggest secret so that she would turn into bubbles." The princesses that were still there screamed out, and Lucia was sure she heard Rina yell, 'Don't do it!'

The pink princess ignored these pleads. Lucia took a deep breath, then -

"Caren was a mermaid."

The dead body began to start smoking, and her flesh melted into foam. Blood ran out between the froth, but Lucia ignored it and continued. The mermaids began sobbing and shrieking again, and Hanon actually attempted to throw something at Lucia for doing this to the dead girl. Of course, she evaded the shot.

"She only would've turned into bubbles if she'd told a human. But she said that if she told me to tell a human, she would still turn into bubbles. Smart girl." Lucia's eyes softened. "She wanted to turn into bubbles so she could always be part of the sea she'd always loved." At this, the princesses sobered and stared at the coffin filled with white and lavender bubbles.

Subaru, who was the only human at the funeral besides Kaito, fled immediately after hearing these words. This whole thing made no sense whatsoever.

Everybody seemed to ignore Subaru.

"Shall we now? Make her a part of the sea she'd always wanted to be part of?" Lucia motioned to the coffin.

The princesses came up and lugged the heavy object towards the ocean, which wasn't too far. They proceeded to dump the contents into the water. The water gleamed red where the blood had hit, but Lucia, Hanon, Rina, and Seira were too sad to bother looking.

---

And of course, Nanami Lucia had a dream that night about a seven-year-old unborn mermaid...

---

**I think I owe Suzu-chan, was it, for the gruesome turning into bubbles description? If it wasn't Suzu-chan, thanks anyway. But I think it was, so...thanks Suzu-chan! Yep, this is a new mermaid story...except this one isn't all Mary Sues and romance. It's a more angsty, sad, friendship ficlet. R&R!**


	2. Chapter 1: Resurrection

**Author's Notes: Whassup? We're not having another large Seira-like plot...it'll be classic and simple, so it should be only about three to five chapters. Which is good, because I only needed to write this for the plot bunnies that were getting in the way of WLGYL and MaO. **

**Disclaimer: Michiko Yokote is a pretty name...unfortunately, it's not mine.**

---

**Shades of Angst - Chapter Two**

**---**

_Leila...my name is Leila, the unborn girl told her._

_When will you be born? Lucia asked._

_Soon...very soon. But you must retrieve the pearl first...you lot were dumb enough to throw it into the ocean along with the bubbles of my predecessor._

"AIIEE!" Lucia screamed, jumping up in her bed.

Hanon jumped in, wielding a baseball bat. "Lucia, are you okay?"

"I had a dream. Her name will be Leila...Hanon, we left the locket and pearl in the coffin, and we dumped out the coffin - "

" - in the sea," Hanon breathed, immediately getting the point. "That means Leila might be born over with...with who? There aren't any new villains!"

---

"This is wonderful," the dark man exclaimed.

In front of him stood Lady Bat and Lanhua. Both of them had just been somehow resurrected.

"You just brought two of the best villains in history back to life, of course it's wonderful," Lanhua said haughtily, dipping one slender hand so that her fan would open.

Lady Bat grinned. "So, you probably brought us back to work for you?"

"Yes...you see, I've been watching Gaito and Michel for years. They were both brought down by the Mermaid Princesses, right?"

"Michel-sama was not brought down," Lanhua and Lady Bat yelled indignantly.

"He was...he gave up because he fell in love with Seira," Lady Bat finished. Despite having been killed by their previous master, they were still undoubtedly loyal to him.

"Right, right. At any rate, one of the Mermaid Princesses died shortly afterward - "

"Hanon?" Lanhua asked excitedly.

"Lucia?" Lady Bat matched Lanhua's enthusiam.

"Caren," the mysterious man clarified.

Lady Bat and Lanhua shrugged. Either way, it'd been a princess.

"She died in a...devastating car crash," he cackled. "Of course, I had the pleasure of being behind the wheel." Michel's two servants looked at each other and smirked. Working with this one would be fun. "Anyway, at the funeral, Lucia turned her into bubbles so that they could dump her into the sea - " He revealed a scarily pale hand, in which held a locket. A familiar locket... "They were hysterical and sad enough to forget she was wearing this at the time, and dumped this in as well. I fetched it immediately..." He flipped the locket open and an electric purple pearl was shown, cushioned neatly in the pretty designs of the necklace. The buttefly and vampire's jaws dropped.

"The purple pearl. A new princess will be born soon from this, and we will raise her on our side." His face rearranged itself into a smirk.

Lady Bat licked his lips. "Wonderful. But before we start taking your orders, who are you?"

The man stepped out of the shadows. His hairstyle was very much like the Panthlassa twins' and his hair was a pale blue; darker than Gaito's, but not really blue yet.

"Have you ever wondered who Aqua Regina mated with to create Kaito and Gaito?"

---

"I sense a DISBALANCE!" Madame Taki yelled, standing up and nearly knocking her crystal ball off the table.

Nikora raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"An evil stronger than we've ever seen before..." The elderly woman sat down again and repositioned her fortune telling object.

Hippo ignored the woman for once and continued sulking on the sofa in his penguin form. They hadn't allowed him at the funeral yesterday because his human form would attract too many fangirls.

"I should go tell Lucia and the others," Nikora sighed, running her free hand through her magenta hair.

Hippo hopped off the sofa and waddled away from the room as Nikora began to walk in his direction. It'd been Nikora's idea to keep him at the Piari.

"I hope Lucia-san and the others will be okay," he mused as he waddled.

---

"So you're taken?" Lanhua pouted cutely.

Lady Bat clicked his tongue. "Don't suck up, Lanhua. Remember? No matter how suggestive your words were to Michel-sama, he still killed you in the end."

Hiroshi, on the other hand, laughed. "Michel liked to play favorites?"

"Yes, he adored me," Lanhua purred, running one hand down her leg.

Lady Bat scoffed. "If he adored you, why did he kill you?"

Lanhua stopped her seductive movements and glared at Lady Bat. "Would you stop bringing that up?! I know very well he killed me!"

"I'm just pointing out that maybe we should trust, but not _completely_ trust Hiroshi-sama - "

"It's rude to talk like that right in front of me," Hiroshi informed the vampire, who hissed angrily and fled the room.

"He's just mad because no matter what he did, Michel-sama liked me better," Lanhua waved her hand dismissively.

Hiroshi frowned. "When I was watching, it seems Michel liked Lady Bat better..." Lanhua death glared at him. "...but hey, that's just me," He finished, squeaking slightly.

"Hiroshi-sama..." Lanhua smirked. "You know, I'd love to order you and Lady Bat around."

"You can scare me with your feminine wiles, but you will _not_ take away my leadership!" Hiroshi boomed.

"Fine, fine. Lady Bat will come back on his own soon...so what should we do with the pearl?"

"We'll wait," the dark man said simply. "Wait for the new princess to be born."

---

**Alright, confession time. I sort of messed around with another plot bunny and accidentally smashed it into this one...so now we have a two headed mutant plot bunny. The whole 'Kaito and Gaito's father' thing was the other bunny, but I decided to save time and smash it into this one. Cute father-ish scenes later with Kaito, maybe, seeing as Gaito's dead... Anyway, R&R!**


	3. Chapter 2: Lies and Foolishness

**Author's Notes: Go to Youtube, find Hana to Chou no Serenade, pause it, open another window/tab and get Ankoku no Tsubasa, play both at once, and you will die laughing, I assure you. xD**

**Disclaimer: I own this computer and this freaky two headed plot bunny, but nothing else...**

**---**

**Shades of Angst - Chapter Three**

**---**

_Three months..._

It'd been three months, and still no sign of the pearl, nor any villains. Noel was getting frustrated.

"Please, even if there are no villains, we need to find that pearl!" The deep blue princess yelled. A group of lesser mermaids bowed and left to continue the search.

---

_Two months..._

Two months had passed since Leila was born. Lanhua ran the brush through the little child's shoulder-length hair. No matter what she did, those stupid corkscrews that reminded her of that stupid Caren remained curly and bouncy.

"Why couldn't you be born with straight hair?!" she cried, giving up and throwing the brush aside.

Leila grinned cockily. "Why, Auntie Lanhua? Jealous?"

Lanhua bit back a grin. The three of them had raised her well. "No, it's just that...when you're old enough, Leila, I might tell you."

"Why can't you tell me _now_?" Leila persisted.

"Fine. You already know you're one of the Mermaid Princesses, right?"

Leila sneered at the name, but nodded. "I am the purple pearl princess. I rule over the kingdom of the Antartic ocean, and the princess before me was named Caren."

"Good girl." Lanhua beamed proudly, then her smile faltered. "Caren had the same curls you have..."

Leila's eyes widened and she glared distastefully at the mirror. "Auntie Lanhua, get me some hairgel. Now."

---

"So I told her about her curls, and she's still in the bathroom, trying to get them to straighten out." Lanhua explained.

Lady Bat snickered. "Wonderful. I never really liked those curls anyway."

Hiroshi ignored them, reading the newspaper.

"Hiroshi-sama..." Lady Bat's voice cut into the man's thoughts.

"What?" Hiroshi raised an eyebrow curiously.

"Well...you told us to raise Leila, and then you never told us the rest of the plan."

Kaito's father grinned maliciously. "We brought her up all wrong and evil." Lady Bat visibly bristled at this. He'd been Leila's main caretaker. "She hates the princesses, even though she knows she is one, she hates mermaids, and she doesn't know how to work her powers as one, she's never seen the ocean in her life, even though this apartment is very close to the ocean - " He nodded appreciatively to Lanhua, the owner of the apartment - "...Basically, we'll hand her over to them and she'll raise Hell. We haven't told her the deep blue and purple pearls are connected; she has no idea that Noel is her older sister. Noel will go into a total angsty mess, and the other mermaids are fucked up as is. We'll overpower them, take their pearls, and basically rule the ocean. Sound good to you?"

Lanhua and Lady Bat looked at each other strangely.

"Hiroshi-sama, it's a great plan, but we will get Leila back and have her rule with us, won't we?" Lady Bat demanded.

Lanhua nodded ferverently. She'd grown too close with the little girl to ever imagine doing her in at the end.

"Of course, we've all grown too close to her to ever give her away. How heartless do you think I am?" Hiroshi gave a half-smile.

"In that case..." Lady Bat gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up.

Lanhua beamed. "Ditto. We'll plan an attack, and have Leila come with us. Even if we tried, we wouldn't be able to stop them from taking her."

"Smart girl," Hiroshi clapped with approval. "Let's go get Leila, then!"

---

"So...you want me to come with you two and kick their asses?" Leila asked excitedly. Her hair was kind of straightened. The dark locks were extremely wavy where the curls had been, and they'd probably pop back into their corkscrew form in an hour or two.

"Yeah. But we gotta get you ready for battle," Lady Bat winked and pulled something from his back. It was the locket they'd taken and never given back.

"Yo, that's the shizz!" Leila exclaimed.

Lanhua took it from the vampire and opened it, showing a shiny pearl. "Yes, it is." She threw a dirty look at Lady Bat for teaching Leila gangster talk. "It's the purple pearl...we thought you were too young for it before, but I think seven is a good age, and you're very responsible." She took the lavender strings coming out from it and tied the necklace around Leila's neck.

"Now, scream out 'Purple Pearl Voice'," Lady Bat instructed, not daring to look at Lanhua. It wasn't his fault that Leila had heard someone yelling in gangster speak and demanded lessons!

"PURPLE PEARL VOICE!" The little girl cried, ecstatic. She threw up her arms and her clothes melted away. Some cute music and frills later, she stood in front of them, all transformed.

Lanhua nodded. "Go ahead and look at yourself, if you want."

Leila looked into her full length mirror and gasped. Her shoulder length hair now went down to her ankles, and - oh. The curls were back. But her hair was a luminous shade of lavender instead of a dark, blackish wine-like colour, and that made the hairstyle of her predescessor all the more bearable. She wore the same uniform that Caren had, only a little smaller and conformed to fit her body; and finally, her auburn eyes had changed into a mild violet. She admired the lacey gloves that adorned her hands and finally realized she was holding a microphone. "Ooh, what's this?"

Lanhua stared at the object with horror. "Leila, don't you dare say anything into it."

Just to spite her 'auntie', she lowered her mouth to the microphone. "Testing, one two three..."

"AUUUGGHH!" Lady Bat and Lanhua fell to the ground, screaming and shrieking. Leila immediately stopped.

Lady Bat picked himself up, smoothed down his clothes, and helped Lanhua up.

"Mermaid Princesses kill people with their voices," Lanhua explained, bending the truth a bit. "They sing...and the microphones make it all the more painful for any listeners."

Leila clapped a hand to her mouth and threw the microphone across the room. "Ohmigosh, I'm so sorry, I didn't know, oh God, _I'm_ a Mermaid Princess, I'M A MONSTER!" Leila wailed, collasping on her knees.

Lady Bat put a hand on her shoulder. "Leila, it isn't your fault. But even if you do think so, don't you want to avenge all the people who have been murdered by those bloodthirsty women?"

Leila nodded numbly. "Let's go."

---

"Lanhua? Lady Bat? I thought you were dead - " Lucia's jaw dropped. "_Leila_? You look just like Caren - "

"Then I'd better burn myself, because I don't ever wanna resemble any of you monsters!" Leila hollered.

Lanhua laughed meanly. "Lucia, Hanon, Rina, Noel, Coco, Seira. You didn't honestly think the pearl was just lost in the water?"

"We took the liberty of raising Leila-chan for you all," Lady Bat cackled. "We hope you like her methods of thought!"

Noel's eyes were wide and she stared at the new princess.

"What the Hell are you lookin' at, bitch?" Leila snorted harshly. Noel stepped back and her eyes became misty.

Hanon's hands were glued to her mouth. "They've done something...told her something...she hates us! Leila, you're one of us!"

"I know that," Leila narrowed her eyes. "But I'm not going to torture innocent people to death with my microphone! How could anyone do such a disgusting thing?!"

"We don't torture people to death!" Seira exclaimed indignantly.

Leila rolled her eyes. "That's what you want them all to believe!" Lanhua had to bite her lip to keep from laughing.

Coco stared dejectedly at Leila. "How could those two do something like this? This is horrible...and especially heart breaking for Noel..."

"It wasn't just Auntie Lanhua and - "

"Leila, don't let them know about Hiroshi-sama!" Lady Bat yelled quickly.

"Okay then." The princess said simply. She was confused, but didn't say anything. Leila would not let her guard down around these girls.

"Hiroshi?" Rina asked, tilting her head.

"Never mind that. Leila, stay back, okay? Lady Bat, duet." Lanhua screamed loudly, and her chibis popped out. Leila watched in bewilderment, but did nothing, as instructed.

Lady Bat started up his song as well.

"Stop them! Pink Pearl Voice!"

"Mizuiro Pearl Voice!"

"Green Pearl Voice!"

"..." Realizing she didn't have to wait for Caren to call her line, Noel quietly chimed in, "Aiiro Pearl Voice."

"Yellow Pearl Voice!"

"Orange Pearl Voice!"

"Too late, Mermaid Princesses!" Lanhua laughed cruelly.

"_BARA yori mo utsukushiku tsuki yori nayamashiku _

_Taisetsu na inochi naraba kono te de sakasetai..._"

"_Kono yo no subete wo watashi ni kuretara _

_Yogoto no utage wa tanoshiki yume no en..._"

"_Sono mabuta tojite mitsumete!_

_Mayonaka no MASUKAREEDO _

_Ima yami ni suberiochite yuku _

_Saa oite! Obienakute ii yo _

_Soshite eien ni nare!"_

"_Kagen no tsuki wo tategoto ni shite kanadeyou _

_Sen no suzuoto fue no neiro wo togisumasu.."_

"_Ankoku no sekai atarashii toki kizamou _

_Dareka no tame nayandari kokoro wo itamenakute ii.."_

_"Hirari fuwari odoreba tsumasaki koboreru hanabira _

_Yuubi naru SERENAADE subete wo wasurete odore!"_

_"Mabuta tojite mitsumete _

_Ima yami ni suberiochite yuku..."_

_"Watashi ni kashizuku kawaii shimobe yo _

_Kirameku shishuu no hagoromo sazukeyou..."_

_"Mabuta tojite mitsumete _

_Ima yami ni suberiochite yuku..."_

_"Kin to gin no hane mau _

_Hitoyo no yume no utakata yo _

_Odori odore! Koyoi wa... hana ni you AGEHA no mai!"_

"That was seriously fucked up, let's not mix our songs again," Lady Bat advised.

Lanhua smirked. "Agreed."

Leila watched, lips curled up in a smirk, as the princesses lay on the floor, unconscious. "Why haven't you two sung for me before?"

"You're a Mermaid Princess, we were afraid we'd hurt you," Lanhua answered easily.

Leila nodded understandingly. "Now what?"

"They have the same necklace you do, only in different colours," Lady Bat explained. "We'll take them and then run for it."

"Got it!" Leila ran over to the unconscious Noel and pulled the locket off, not even bothering to undo the string. It left a red mark. She turned to leave, but then something caught her foot. Leila looked down and saw that Noel was awake and tugging at her lacey boot.

"Leila...Leila...don't..."

"Don't what?" Leila hissed darkly.

"Please..." And then Leila blacked out.

---

**Ha, that duet was completely screwed up. I started laughing as soon as the music started...If you need a good laugh, do follow the instructions on my higher a/n. Well, that's all for this time, ja ne! R&R!**


	4. Chapter 3: Loneliness

**Author's Notes: Maa, so sorry about the lateness. I'm prewriting, like, four stories. And with school around, of course that seriously ruins my update timing...**

**Disclaimer: Tch, I'll own MMPPPP when Hell freezes over.**

**---**

**Shades of Angst - Chapter Four**

**---**

_Leila blinked. The first thing she noticed was that she'd detransformed; her hands felt bare. She blinked again, and a blurry figure yelled, "She's awake!" _

_The voice was unfamiliar. It wasn't Lady Bat's, Lanhua's, or Hiroshi's...it didn't even sound like one of the Mermaid Princesses. Then again she hadn't really focused on how their voices sounded. Where the Hell was she?_

_"How the Hell did I get here?!" Leila blinked angrily. The world came slowly into focus, and she saw a face, centimeters above hers. The eyes were a sleet gray._

_Rina stood up. "She seems fine."_

_"I'm not fine, why am I with you? I should be with Auntie - OW! What the fuck was that for?!" Leila hollered at Nikora, who'd just inserted a needle into her arm. _

_"Sedative," Nikora replied casually._

_"WHY THE HELL DID YOU GIVE ME A SEDA...da...d...aaaahhh..." Leila fell back into sleep._

_"Because you weren't calm enough. Now then, before she wakes up again, Lucia!"_

_The pink mermaid princess nodded. She followed through with her portion of the plan flawlessly; tying up the purple princess and setting her directly under the showerhead._

_Now it was Hanon's turn. She pinched Leila in the arm, hard...she was jolted out of her slumber immediately._

_"HEY, WHAT GIVES??!!" The mermaid was cut off as Noel turned on the shower._

_"Now shut up until we're done interrogating you, or you'll pay the horrible, horrible price," Seira told her sadistically, positioning her small, seemingly innocent hands over the cold water._

_Coco clapped as Leila's tail visibly flinched at Seira's scariness. "That was good, Seira! Now then, Leila, what's your earliest memory?"_

_"..." Leila refused to speak._

_So Seira turned on the water._

_"WAAAH!!! AAAAH!! Cold, COLD!!! COLD!!!!" Leila whimpered slightly in thanks as Rina sharply and deftly turned off the evil onslaught of freezing cold water._

_"What did we tell you about revealing your evil side?" Rina scolded, hands on her hips._

_Seira rolled her eyes. "Hey, we're dealing with a princess who's twice as bitchy, do you expect me to - "_

_"How could you say such a thing?!" Leila wailed, immediately starting to sob. Lucia rushed over quickly._

_"Are you okay? Seira didn't mean it, she's - " Lucia was cut off by a swift right hook to the jaw. The princess was sent flying across the room, where she smashed into the bathroom mirror and died._

---

Leila wished so badly that the scenario she'd thought up just a few seconds ago really would happen. Because right now, the bubbly, overly-energetic pink princess was giggling bashfully and chatting with her. But really, Lucia was the one doing all the chatting; Leila sat there, arms crossed, pout on her lips, and dark eyes flashing venomously. She also happened to be tied to the chair.

"...So then Kaito asked me to go to the dance, and I said, 'No, of course not!' And the look on his face was so adorable - " Lucia stopped and stared at the distraught mermaid before her. "...You don't care, do you?"

"No," Leila informed her. "I don't."

Lucia sighed and plopped back onto the sofa. She just wanted to maybe make some sort of connection with the little girl. The Mermaid Princesses worked the best only when they were all connected by friendship bonds. And it just seemed so impossible at that moment...

"Well, there goes that conversation. I thought I'd decide to be nice and leave this to the others, but we have to get some answers out of you. Leila, you're not normal - normal Mermaid Princesses would be tortured by that performance. You stood there and _enjoyed_ it...are you some sort of masochist?"

"Where did you learn big words like that? I thought you were the stupid one." _Nicely done, Leila. Just avoid the questions, change the subject, she _is _the dumb one, she'll completely forget after a while..._

"I get that a lot." Lucia laughed and rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Not really. I just don't have a lot of common sense."

"..." Leila stared monotonously at her. _You obviously lack common sense, stupid girl, do you think I'm as half-witted as you are...?_

Lucia frowned. "Really, though, it's not that easy to shake me. Leila, would you mind telling me your life story?"

The purple princess thought about it. It wasn't like she had any information that would be valuable for them -

_"Leila, don't let them know about Hiroshi-sama!"_

Oh. That's what they wanted. Her lips gradually lifted themselves into a cruel smirk. Well, she wouldn't give it to them.

"Fine. But do tell me how you got me away from Auntie Lan - "

Lucia giggled. "Oh, that? Hippo and Nikora had a little fun with something they invented themselves. It was basically a bow and arrow, except the arrow was filled with sedative..."

"Hippo and Nikora?"

Lucia clarified, "Friends."

Silence. Leila coughed slightly in embarrassment. "Um, if you don't mind me saying, what are 'friends'?"

---

"That poor, deprived, secluded, little girl," Coco murmured sympathetically. She wiped tears from her eyes with a silk towelette.

Noel was sitting in the corner, bawling about how Lanhua and Lady Bat had not treated her younger sister right. Rina sat next to her, armed with comforting words. The onslaught seemed to do nothing to the depressed princess.

"How on Earth did she live with just those two? And humans can't help but want other humans...didn't she ever sneak out now and then to go see others? Did she even go out? Her skin was so pale..." Coco mused to herself, ignoring the fact that two others were also in the room and not knowing the fact that she was only making it worse for Noel.

"Lady Bat mentioned someone named Hiroshi," Rina interrupted. "He added -sama to his name, do you think we have another regime?" Her voice was only slightly worried; Michel and Gaito had gone down quick and quiet. Most likely, this 'Hiroshi' would as well.

For the first time since Caren had passed away, Noel pulled out her glasses and textbooks and went into Data mode. She stared at the frayed and yellowed pages - had she really been so depressed as to forget her lovely facts? She mentally sighed and noted that she needed to go on the internet and search for any scientific breakthroughs that she'd missed, then cleared her throat and turned to a certain page in a certain textbook.

"Hiroshi is a masculine name." Noel closed the book and returned it to hammerspace. She did the same with the others and her glasses. "That's to be expected, Gaito and Michel were also males." Then she returned to sobbing. "What...if...Leila...did Hiroshi..."

"I highly doubt this 'Hiroshi' is a pedo," Coco said quickly. "And even if he was, I don't think he'd want to have anything to do with a Mermaid Prin - "

"Sara and Gaito, Seira and Michel," Rina counted off her fingers. "That's two out of two. But really, Leila's not an orange pearl princess, so I doubt it." She hastily added to make sure Noel wouldn't continue with her helpless sobs.

Noel sniffled slightly and seemed to calm down. "I'm sorry...I seem to be doing a lot of crying lately..."

"That's okay, Noel," Coco answered kindly. "Your sister died, and then you find out your new sister hates you. I'd cry too; everybody would cry in that situation, Noel."

"Thanks, Coco." Noel smiled slightly.

Rina tilted her head. "How heart-warming. Now then, the matter of dealing with Leila?"

Hanon knocked slightly on the door frame and entered, eyes glittering. "I have ideas..."

---

**Let's try not to update so late next time, shall we? -Sweatdrop.-Well, please R&R!**


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